Thomas Dunn English
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | death_date = April | death_place = Newark, New Jersey }} Dr. Thomas Dunn English (June 29, 1819 - April 1, 1902) was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, and a published author and songwriter, who had a bitter ongoing feud with Edgar Allan Poe. Life English was born in Philadelphia on June 29, 1819.Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 203. ISBN 0195031865 He attended the Friends Academy in Burlington, New Jersey, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1839. His graduation thesis was on phrenology.Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A critical biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998: 349. ISBN 0801857309 He studied law, and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1842, but mainly pursued journalism. Literary pursuits English wrote scores of poems and plays as well as stories and novels, but his reputation as a writer was built on the ballad "Ben Bolt" (1843).Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906: 293. Written for Nathaniel Parker Willis's New York Mirror, it was turned into a song and became very popular, with a ship, steamboat and racehorse soon named in its honor.Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906: 294. Other works include the temperance novel Walter Woolfe, or the Doom of the Drinker in 1842 and the political romance MDCCCXLII. or the Power of the S. F. in 1846.Griswold, Rufus Wilmot (ed). The Poets and Poetry of America. Philadelphia: Parry and McMillan, 1855: 576. He was the founding editor of the monthly The Aristidean in New York,Moss, Sidney P. Poe's Literary Battles: The Critic in the Context of His Literary Milieu. Southern Illinois University Press, 1969: 176. which printed its debut issue in February 1845.Thomas, Dwight and David K. Jackson. The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe 1809–1849. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1987: 501. ISBN 0816187347. English later edited several other journals, including the humorous magazine The John Donkey, the American Review: A Whig journal, and Sartain's Magazine. Quarrel with Poe English was a friend of author Edgar Allan Poe, but the 2 fell out amidst a public scandal involving Poe and the poets Frances Sargent Osgood and Elizabeth F. Ellet. After suggestions that her letters to Poe contained indiscreet material, Ellet asked her brother to demand the return of the letters. Poe, who claimed he had already returned the letters, asked English for a pistol to defend himself from Ellet's infuriated brother.Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992: 191. English was skeptical of Poe's story and suggested that he end the scandal by retracting the "unfounded charges" against Ellet.Moss, Sidney P. Poe's Literary Battles: The Critic in the Context of His Literary Milieu. Southern Illinois University Press, 1969: 220. The angry Poe pushed English into a fistfight, during which his face was cut by English's ring.Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991: 291. ISBN 0060923318 Poe later claimed to have given English "a flogging which he will remember to the day of his death", though English denied it; either way, the fight ended their friendship and stoked further gossip about the scandal. Later that year, Poe harshly criticized English's work as part of his "Literati of New York" series published in Godey's Lady's Book, referring to him as "a man without the commonest school education busying himself in attempts to instruct mankind in topics of literature".Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906: 296. The pair had several confrontations, usually centered around literary caricatures of each other. A letter by Englis, published in the July 23, 1846, issue of the New York Mirror,''Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. Checkmark Books, 2001: 81, 83, 91. caused Poe to successfully sue the editors of the Mirror for libel.Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991: 312-313. ISBN 0060923318 Poe was awarded $225.06 as well as an additional $101.42 in court costs.Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991: 328. ISBN 0060923318 That year English published a novel called 1844, or, The Power of the S.F. Its plot made references to secret societies, and ultimately was about revenge. It included a character named Marmaduke Hammerhead, the famous author of The Black Crow, who uses phrases like "Nevermore" and "lost Lenore." The clear parody of Poe was portrayed as a drunkard, liar, and domestic abuser. Poe's story "The Cask of Amontillado" was written as a response, using very specific references to English's novel.Rust, Richard D. "Punish with Impunity: Poe, Thomas Dunn English and 'The Cask of Amontillado'" in The Edgar Allan Poe Review, Vol. II, Issue 2 - Fall, 2001, St. Joseph's University Another Poe revenge tale, "Hop-Frog", may also reference English.Benton, Richard P. "Friends and Enemies: Women in the Life of Edgar Allan Poe" as collected in Myths and Reality: The Mysterious Mr. Poe. Baltimore: Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1987: 16. Years later, in 1870, when English edited the magazine The Old Guard, founded by the Poe-defender Charles Chauncey Burr, he found occasion to publish both an anti-Poe article (June 1870) and an article defending Poe's greatest detractor Rufus Wilmot Griswold (October 1870). Political career English's initialt foray into politics was as an advocate of the annexation of Texas.Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906: 297. ISBN 1932109455 He moved to Virginia in 1852, to New York City in 1857, and to Newark, New Jersey a year later. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1863 and 1864.Thomas Dunn English, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Web, Aug. 13, 2007. English was elected as a Democrat to the 52nd and 53d Congresses, serving in office from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1895. He was chairman of the Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (53rd Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the 54th Congress. Last years After leaving Congress, English resumed his former literary pursuits in Newark. In 1896, he published Reminisces of Poe, in which he hinted at scandals without specificity. He did, however, defend Poe against rumors of drug use: "Had Poe the opium habit when I knew him (before 1846) I should both as a physician and a man of observation, have discovered it during his frequent visits to my rooms, my visits at his house, and our meetings elsewhere – I saw no signs of it and believe the charge to be a baseless slander".Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A critical biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998: 351. ISBN 0801857309 English died April 1, 1902, and was interred in Fairmount Cemetery in Newark. His monument notes him as "Author of Ben Bolt". Publications Poetry *''Zephaniah Doolittle: A poem'' (Philadelphia: 1838. *''Gasology''. Philadelphia: John Donkey, 1878 1877. *''American Ballads''. New York: Harper, 1880. *''The Boy's Book of Battle-lyrics: A collection of verses illustrating some notable events in the history of the United States of America, from the colonial period to the outbreak of the sectional war. New York: Harper, 1885. * [http://archive.org/details/cu31924021982479 ''Select Poems (exclusive of the " Battle lyrics")] (edited by Alice English). Newark, NJ: privately printed, 1894. Plays *''The Mormons, or Life at Salt Lake City: A drama in three acts''. New York: Samuel French, 1858. Novels *''Walter Woolf, or, The doom of the drinker''. New York: William B. Smith, 1847. *''Ambrose Fecit, or, The peer and the printer: A novel. New York: Hilton, 1867. *''Zara, or, The girl of the period: A novel. New York: Hilton & Syme, 186- *''Jacob Schuyler's Millions: A novel''. New York: D. Appleton, 1886. Non-fiction *''The French Revolution of 1848: Its causes, actors, events & influences'' (with G.G. Foster). Philadelphia: G.B. Zieber, 1848. *''Skeleton Essays, or Authorship in Outline: Consisting of condensed treatises on popular subjects ... and directions how to enlarge them into essays, or expand them into lectures. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1890. *''Hurrah For You, Old Glory. Newark, NJ: A. English, 1895. *''Prohibition in Maine: A scathing exposure of the result of thirty years' effort''. Newark, NJ: privately printed, 1882. Juvenile *''Fairy Stories and Wonder Tales'' (edited by Florence English Noll). New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1897. *''The Little Giant, the Big Dwarf, and two other wonder-tales, for boys and girls from eight to eighty years old''. Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1904. Edited *''The Aristidean: A magazine of review, politics and light literature''. New York: Lane & Co., 1845. *''The Book of Rubies: A collection of the most notable love-poems in the English language. New York: Scribner, 1866. *Half-Hours with the Poets: A collection of choice poems, from Chaucer to Tennyson. New York: James Miller, 1874.Half-Hours with the Poets: A collection of choice poems, from Chaucer to Tennyson (1874), Internet Archive. Web, Aug. 10, 2013. ''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy West Virginia University.Thomas Dunn English (1819-1902), Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry, College of Law, West Virginia University. Web, Aug. 10, 2013. See also * List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems * "The Battle of New Orleans" * English, Thomas Dunn (1819-1902) at Representative Poetry Online ("Ben Bolt") * Thomas Dunn English at PoemHunter (4 poems) *Thomas Dunn English at Poetry Nook (12 poems) ;Prose * "Reminiscences of Poe", New York Independent. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV. ;Books *Bibliography of Thomas Dunn English at Poetry Archive ;About *Thomas Dunn English at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress *Thomas Dunn English at The Political Graveyard *Thomas Dunn English (1819-1902) at Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and poetry *Poe and Thomas Dunn English at World of Poe weblog. *Thomas Dunn English obituary from The New York Times *Thomas Dunn Englishr at Find a Grave Category:1819 births Category:1902 deaths Category:Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Category:Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Edgar Allan Poe Category:19th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets